Mr. Duford-Final Expense Agent Mentor

[VolAgent]

There was a comment made earlier that information has a value of zero(free). That was completely and totally wrong. Information MAY be free, but that doesn't mean it has no value.

But more to the point, so what? The value is not in having the information, it is in knowing what to do with it. There is tons and tons of information freely available online about how to sell insurance or do just about anything. The real value is in being able to sift through all that information and derive real value. That is what a trainer or mentor of value does, sort through all the stuff out there and distill it down to something of true value.

 

[jdeasy]

Totally disagree Justin, The best way to Vet and and then to train them is to put them in your car and give them a 12 hour show up what this is like.

I would disagree with that premise. Especially about it being the "best". It might be best for some but most of the top producers I know never went through that.

In fact, I don't believe in ride alongs at all until the agent has some miles on him to appreciate what they are seeing.

 

[LostDollar]

There was a comment made earlier that information has a value of zero(free). That was completely and totally wrong. Information MAY be free, but that doesn't mean it has no value.

But more to the point, so what? The value is not in having the information, it is in knowing what to do with it. There is tons and tons of information freely available online about how to sell insurance or do just about anything. The real value is in being able to sift through all that information and derive real value. That is what a trainer or mentor of value does, sort through all the stuff out there and distill it down to something of true value.

Your posts are spot on to considerations that I had while I was considering FE and considering who I might use for an IMO. I leaned toward an agent that had been recommended to me in pm and also has made posts on site I found about ride along training he does/did with trainee agents.

Hearing from and seeing a successful person in action provide "a sense" of the process that one (imo) cannot get from just reading or viewing.

 

[HoosierLife]

I'm only charging $199!

 

[Matt Spamer]

Agents really pay you 400 bucks for a door knocking course? God bless ya Mr. Duford.....

 

[NuUzr]

I don't know of Dave's abilities as a producer or trainer so
I can't give you a reccomendation on his program specifically.

But, let me ask you this: if his training gave you everything you need to know to make 100k+ every year for the rest of your life how much would that be worth? What if you'd be able to teach an unlimited amount of agents the same system?

If his program can do that for you 17k is CHEAP. How much does university cost??

Actually - Dave does have a FE University.. True.

The entire thread revolves around a ROI. I was hoping to get a response from someone who has experience with his training material.

17K isn't cheap. What did you pay during your ramp up period?

----------

That is a big question I would want to know.



So do you fly to him and he goes on appointments with you every day ?

There are guys on here that offer training without any cut in compensation. I would lean towards trying that first myself.

We really need more clarification on his training IMO.

I viewed a recruiting seminar/webinar. I posted everything contained in the mentor program. Dave offers a telemarketing/door knocking/presentation training, a quote system, ride alongs(you go to him or he'll try and find someone close by), bi-monthly live QA's webinars, readily available for questions - pretty much what a lot of others offer. A main selling point is the 'personalized' attention.

I have nothing negative to say about the training offered - the question is, is 17 THOUSAND DOLLARS worth it. Only I can answer that. I was hoping someone on here was familiar with his material.

----------

Because today you can start at an IMO with 110-120% contracts with no prior experience and get top level training without giving up those points.

That wasn't the case when I started.

Of course an agent needs training and support. You just don't have to pay for it today with severely reduced contracts.

I was hoping to get the other side.. I thought a 35%(17K) swing was pretty steep.

----------

Are there any IMOs that offer top notch proven training, commissions for ALL brand new trainees averaging 115%, FexQuotes for FE quoting at no cost, CSG Actuarial for Med Sup quoting at no cost, Company lead credit doubling with several companies, releases, sales awards, sales tracking/planning software, field training with a PROVEN top producer, full time staff support, plus exclusive library of web training with years of history, the most highly competitive FE companies including SNL, Trinity, Oxford, KSKJ, Gerber, Christian Fidelity, Standard Life, Settlers and more, high level classroom training, group texting/chatting with top producers as well as other newbies allowing you to network with friendly agents across the USA, Funeral Director on staff to answer all your funeral/burial/cremation specific questions you encounter, smokin' hot producer rings, direct contracts to the IMO with no extra middle men, weekly conference call, Telemarketer-leads, Facebook leads, set-price Direct Mail "life insurance" leads with age filter at $27.50 each, weekly drawing for lead bonus money and a proven history of churning out top FE producers.

Is that too much to ask for?

All of that with an avg of 115% -- Wow..

----------

Having trained numerous agents myself, I can tell you that if you're being trained by a guy who's still personally producing, he's giving up a sizable amount of income to thoroughly train a green agent. So 1/3 of the commission does seem high, but not unreasonable if he's investing the amount of time and effort he indicates he's putting in. Then like someone else mentioned, a fair amount of that production is going to lapse, so the total is probably somewhat less than the 17k cited. You can get training from other IMO's, and there are some good ones posting on this forum. But the sad truth is, a lot of IMO's that claim to train agents do very little actual training. Sure, they hold webinars & have training material on their website, etc. But the level of training Mr. Duford's giving probably should cost something.

Yah, that's his main selling point -- he's hands on.. doesn't leave you hanging like other IMO's who slack in support.

----------

Can we stop with the 17K?

Where are you getting that cash to pay him? I'm sure he much rather have you pay him directly. There's not guarantee he's getitng 17k .. and the way agents drop out of this business ..it's highly unlikely that he will get 17k ... furthermore

You can always decide to leave and go earn higher commissions elsewhere and you won't owe him a dime... so no you are not paying him 17k ...

The question you should be asking yourself is.. are the other higher paying places like FEX giving you comparable or better training.. and for one to know that ..they would have to have gone through both systems.

 

[FinalExpenseDojo.com]

Let me be transparent here.

There's two types of managers. Those who find great sales people & those who develop great sales people.

Fact of the matter is very few sales managers (in all sales industries) know how to develop great sales people. Developing a salesperson is a lot like developing an athlete in a new sport. If all it took was watching others do it then we would all be pros with the amount of sports Americans watch! The Yankees are one of the greatest franchises in history. Some think they are successful because they buy their talent. Fact of the matter is they are the best at developing talent from their farm team! Look it up.

In another industry there were 2 managers that had locations 2 miles away from each other. Both started their teams from scratch. One manager hired 30+ people & never hit monthly quotas & never found anyone that stayed more than a month. The other manager hired 6 people & all 6 stuck & that location became the #1 location in the company breaking several ALL TIME records. One manager knew how to develop & the other didn't.

Here's my favorite book on sales management.

 

[CALTCAgent]

The entire thread revolves around a ROI. I was hoping to get a response from someone who has experience with his training material.

Didn't Mr. Duford respond to this thread twice ?

 

[Newby]

Let me be transparent here.

There's two types of managers. Those who find great sales people & those who develop great sales people.

Fact of the matter is very few sales managers (in all sales industries) know how to develop great sales people. Developing a salesperson is a lot like developing an athlete in a new sport. If all it took was watching others do it then we would all be pros with the amount of sports Americans watch! The Yankees are one of the greatest franchises in history. Some think they are successful because they buy their talent. Fact of the matter is they are the best at developing talent from their farm team! Look it up.

In another industry there were 2 managers that had locations 2 miles away from each other. Both started their teams from scratch. One manager hired 30+ people & never hit monthly quotas & never found anyone that stayed more than a month. The other manager hired 6 people & all 6 stuck & that location became the #1 location in the company breaking several ALL TIME records. One manager knew how to develop & the other didn't.

Here's my favorite book on sales management.

So in other words focus on the results coming out, not just the menu going in?

Nice. I like it.

 

[NuUzr]

Dave knows his stuff for sure and he seems to always be working which is great! The downsides that I see for the most part...

1. Most of his training is free on YouTube, so you can get that stuff no matter who you are with.

2. I see no point in charging an agent for training when you are cutting their comp 40% or so already. I thought the comp cut was FOR the training...

3. Selling other products (training packages, books, monthly subscriptions, etc.) is something I tell agents to be cautious of. AFLAC makes a TON of money on recruiting agents. It doesn't matter if the agent is successful or not.

One thing I like about other options (Myself, FEX, 360, etc.) is that we all make money if the agent makes a SALE. If I hire you, train you, etc. and then you bail, I make ZERO dollars. So I give you straight answers when talking to you and will tell agents in a heartbeat if I don't think they are cut out for our organization. If I was going to make a few thousand dollars even if the agent didn't sell a policy, that story might be different.

I think if an agent is local to someone and can get PHYSICAL training (coming into the office or by their house) on a regular basis, then giving up comp for that is reasonable. But with all the options out there, I don't see a point in giving up a ton of comp AND paying for the training.

My agents get step by step guidance on each topic. Personal 1on1 training by me over the phone (or in person in several instances). I have agents fly in and train with me or I have went to agents on several occasions. I also have new agents in the car with other veteran agents pretty regularly.

This is not a knock on Dave because what he does has worked for him. I went to Los Angeles a few weeks back to meet up with some of my agents and we decided to go out on a boat fishing. You paid for a ticket. Paid more if you wanted certain spots on the boat. Had to rent your bag to put the fish in. Had to buy food/drinks on the boat. Had to rent poles. Had to buy tackle from the boat. The list goes on and on. Some manager's systems are like that boat. They have several revenue streams from their agents.

It is up to the agent to decide if they are willing to invest all of that, and if they think it is worth it, then Dave is a good option.

I want to make it clear - the individual training packages are included in the "system" (35%) -- If someone outside of his "down-line" wanted to buy his training that's the price of each course.

For the record, I paid extremely close attention to the webinar--VERY close with pencil in hand.. "A dull pencil remembers more than the sharpest mind"..

He mentioned having 300 agents spread throughout the Nation so someone's buying his system(s).. a la carte or buffet style.


I don't know why some people on here are telling me not to pay attention to the cost only the value. This line of thinking makes zero sense to me. The cost sets the value. I have a hard time with the training value being equivalent to 17.5K.

There's some questions with the 50K bench mark too. Is there a time frame this number has to be 'stayed' at? If I make the 50K threshold today, do I automatically jump to 120%? If a week goes by and there's a 5K cancellation - what happens? Am I back down to 85? The scenarios can run in a lot of directions so clarification is paramount.

I'm sure all of these variable have been worked out but in the webinar the 50k jump to 120% was glossed over VERY VERY, ONE MORE, VERY quickly. Waters could get mucky with that set up. I could have sworn Dave got commission breath going over that one.

Anyway - having a little fun. Appreciate the insight. Was legitimately looking at his program. I really have nothing else to ad.

For the record, Dave has been in the business for 6 years, written a book, has self professed training that's a cut above the rest and offers personal attention to ensure your success. He believes he should be compensated for his efforts as do I. That's the American way! I have zero hard feelings.

$17,500 for the entire training package.. Ouch.

Peace.